Visa restrictions will strain university budgets – Students

The new federal government’s proposed student visa restrictions are raising concerns about the financial impact on higher education institutions in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB), according to the Federation of Francophone Students (FEF), reports The Brussels Times with Belga.

The student union warns that suspending study visas for countries where this route is frequently used for migration purposes will affect the funding of higher education institutions. These restrictions will likely lead to a decrease in the number of international students attending Belgian universities and colleges, it says.

In October, the FWB government decided to cut the budget for higher education institutions by €6.5 million (US$6.7 million) for 2025, and to offset this through a significant increase in additional tuition fees for non-EU students, which will jump to €4,175. However, if the federal government allows fewer students, particularly from Africa, to study in Belgium, universities and colleges will collect less in additional fees to compensate for the budget cuts.
Full report on The Brussels Times site